Fine Craft Guild .com » Holiday Crafts

Gorgeous Hearts :: Free Printables

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:35:00 +0000

THAT LOVING HEART: 15 free darling heart designs to embellish just about anything. Enlarge them: to create a wall-decal/ furniture print stencil or bleach-dye them on t-shirts (gifts or keep). Keep ‘m small: to print in red and adorn that Valentine Card; to create loving embroidery patterns; or make into stamps. Or make a darling tag for your Valentine gifts. Or…

Get Your Set of Hearts

Click here for the download.

Type in the password ‘sherykdesigns.com’ to download.

With love, from me to you.

source: sherykdesigns-blog.com

More Stencils, Stickers & Stick-ons

Heart Stencils
Heart Decals
Heart Quilting Stencils

Valentine Heart Wreaths

Fine Craft Guild — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:55:00 +0000

Well-illustrated Tutorial
To Make Rag Heart Wreaths
as Valentines Gifts or Decoration

By guest writer Lilana

“Hello, Fine Art Craft Guild readers! I’m the “Lilly” in LOVD, Lilly Of the Valley Designs. I’m a hardly-at-home-stay-at-home wife and mom, retired rocket scientist, jewelry-maker, project seeker, and optimist do-gooder, and daily blogger at FeelLOVDeveryday.

I can’t tell you how over-the-top thrilled I am to have been asked to share a craft project with you, let alone a Valentine’s Day craft project.

Here’s how your end result will look. Like it?

‘Craft’ Materials Needed

The best part about this project: it will cost next to nothing but will yield spectacular results. You probably already have all the items you’ll need just sitting in your closet:

- Dry cleaners wire hanger

- Old t-shirt, color of choice

- Scissors (not shown)

- Wire cutters

- Starch (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions

♥ STEP 1: MAKING THE WREATH FRAME.

The hardest part of this project is bending of the wire hanger. Carefully unwind the wire hanger at the hook area and shape the hanger into a heart. You’ll have the hook portion at the heart’s center. Wrap the two wires into one. Take wire cutters and cut off the excess wire. You may need stronger wire cutters than those pictured. Be sure not to cut too closely to where the wires come together as you don’t want to break the connection. I actually cut the excess wire off after I tied each rag strip.

♥ STEP 2: CREATING THE HOOK.

Take the old t-shirt and cut the bottom right above the sew line. This strip will act as your hanging strip. The sewed seam will help this strip’s role from unraveling while it hangs your Rag Heart Wreath.

♥ STEP 3: CUTTING RAG STRIPS.

Begin cutting strips starting at the bottom of the t-shirt. I made my strips between a half an inch to an inch in width and between four to five inches in length. It’s not an exact science and the variation adds character to the final result. This width and length worked so well when I tied the knot that I did not need to use the starch to force the rags to lay outwardly.

♥ STEP 4: KNOTTING YOUR WREATH.

Begin knotting each strip to the wire and follow along until the entire wire is covered. It is not a double knot, just a simple basic tie.

TIP:

When you get to the center of the heart where there are two wires coming together, take a rag strip and knot both wires together. Continue along until the entire wire is covered. Push each knotted strip together tightly.

This photo shows the heart’s center and knotting both wires together.

♥ STEP 5: FINISHING YOUR WREATH

Remember that rag strip you cut from the bottom of the t-shirt?

Go ahead and figure out what length you need based on where you’re going to hang your Rag Heart Wreath. Tie each end to the Rag Heart Wreath around the area where the heart begins to curve upwards.

Try to make that knot blend in with the rest of the knots already tied on to the wire by positioning it between the knotted rag strips already there.

HEART RAG WREATH

All done!

Go hang your swoonie Rag Heart Wreath and be proud; a Valentine’s Day craft that cost nothing, nada, zilch! Good for you and Happy Valentine’s Day, you savvy crafter, you!

I hope you enjoyed this simple craft. I’d love for you to visit me at my blog, Feel L.O.V.D. Everyday, for uplifting conversation & beautiful inspiration.”

: ♥ :

And, if you enjoyed Lilly’s bubbly voice in this tutorial here, go visit her on her blog for more! She is clearly a delightful spirit!

Thank you Lilly for this fun,

eco-friendly project!

Happy Valentines Everyone!

: ♥ :

Enjoy free shipping on orders over $25 (conditions apply).

Curly Grosgrain Ribbons for Valentines Day Wreaths

Fine Craft Guild — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:50:00 +0000

Something nifty today:
Curly grosgrain ribbons!
So cute!

I happen to fancy doing this today. Besides making darling wreaths with them, curled grosgrain ribbons are ideal to embellish a bunch of creative projects I’m working on. You need them too?

How to Curl Grosgrain Ribbons

The traditional recipe of baking curls has been around for ages:

wrap ribbon around long pin & secure,
soak in water,
sprits starch
bake in oven for 1/3 hr.

and VOILA: a mountain of curly grosgrain ribbons.

Doesn’t that look tidy?

Ode to Nikki !!

Nikki, In Stitches, explains how to make curly grosgrain ribbons in some more details on her blog, Nikki in Stitches, and then shows how to make your ribbons into whimsical Valentines Day Wreaths.

In one word: adorable.

Image credit: Nikki’s.

Enjoy free shipping on orders over $25 (conditions apply).

Beads Beads Beads

Fine Craft Guild — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Oh, and the things you can do … with beads. And I’m referring to those beads that are iron-able and shape-able into pretty much any thing you fancy, called perler beads.

Creations Made with Perle Beads

After you’ve made Zhu zhu pet food from beads, and a beaded jewelry set with necklace & bracelet for Barbie or Bratz, and you & the kids still haven’t ran out of steam, .. then here are some more Perler beading ideas for you:

Funky Bead Coasters for your kitchen or to cheer you up at your desk
Bead Frame (s) to match the coasters, also for your desk
Beads Ornaments, balls or stars, for the Christmas Tree of Year-round
Doll Rug for Barbie’s house ( I like that … very creative)

Perler Beads

These colorful shapes are lovely, aren’t they? These perler beads make for a lovely no-mess afternoon crafting, and I highly recommend them. They are inexpensive and you can order online. You’ll need to buy 3 things: Perler beads, pin board shapes, and iron-on sheets.

For more info on how to iron them together, read the tutorial to make play food for zhu zhu pets.

Valentines Day Recipe : Breakfast Bars

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Want to be sweet to your loved one for breakfast on Valentines Day? How about whisking up easy love gateaux, aka instant breakfast bars ? Love it.

Serve up a sophisticated slice sprinkled with some icing sugar or candied hearts for breakfast and cut up a few take-away bars for mid-morning coffee.

Filled with goodies & sweetness, this Valentines Day treat is oh-so-yummy.

Here’s the recipe to start the day of right on February 14:

Valentines Day Recipe for Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:

4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped almonds (or hazelnuts or walnuts)
1 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup orange marmalade
Optional: add chocolate bits

Step – by – Step Instructions:

Mix oats, sugar and salt.

One by one, stir in other ingredients.

Press into a greased 10″ x 15″ (x 1″ high) baking pan.

Bake at 425° for 15-17 minutes or till done.

Cool off on counter, then place in fridge for one hour before serving.

Serving Suggestion:

Sprinkle the surface of the bars with icing sugar or better still, heart-shaped cookie confetti for that Valentine splash.

Recommended: store bars in the fridge.

Choice of Cereal

I recommend you use healthy cereal for this recipe. However, of course, you can choose any kind of flavorful cereal.

Tip: make a few mini-versions this weekend, and experiment with different types of cereal, nuts, and chocolate till you get the sweetness, richness, flavor and texture that you like best. Then, on February 13, you know just what to make for the next morning.

Make a Recycled Dryer Sheet Envelope

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Great Idea: Make your own envelopes for keepsakes from used dryer sheets.

Jennifer from Sunny Vanilla executed this creative idea that was the brainchild of Paula Spahr. Let me show you her works of art:

How to Make Your Own Envelopes

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Just a few steps to success for this craft project:

she ironed the sheets,
folded them over,
cut the sides of the envelop flap (see picture), and
sew a decorative line at approx. 1/4” of the edge.
Then, she used that same contrast color for the card inside. Love that red-white striped card.

Perfectly Easy, Creative Recycling Project

Make a stack of them at a time, so as to make it worth your while to get the sewing machine out.

Jennifer made the dryer sheet envelops for (Valentine) greeting cards. However, I can see a million other uses for these handmade envelopes, either embellished with lot of decoupage, or plain. Jennifer added a pretty, simple and nice button.

source: sunnyvanilla.blogspot.com

DIY ‘Porcelain Rose

Fine Craft Guild — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:50:00 +0000

Isn’t this an awesome glossy porcelain rose? However, it’s made from 13 old plastic spoons instead. Would you believe it?!

Next time you have a party, save those plastic spoons! You’ve got roses to make…

Find an excellent, step-by-step tutorial by Gail here, at the “Can’t Stop Making Things”-blog.

Tip 1: Take good care of nature: Please, please, please use recycled materials instead of new. We must collectively curb our collective consumerism obsession. Thank you in advance.

Tip 2: Take good care of yourself: As you are heating up plastic, you are best advised to work in a well-ventilated area. Never leave an open flame unattended.

Tip 3: Try these roses in red and pink for a Valentine – look!

This my Pinterest Fave for the day. Hope it inspires you.

I think it would be a fun Valentines Day or Mothers Day gift. I also have seen used stuck on a Vase to resemble an Anthropologie knock-off.

Valentine Greeting Cards

Fine Craft Guild — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:28:00 +0000

Love this pop-up card. Classy, simple. Love the color ~ not pink for a change, with a universal message that any lover will understand. Perfect.

Best of all, it comes with a free template.

You will need some precision scissors however to cut this perfectly, but if you do, you’ll have a stunning and unique handmade Valentines Greeting Card.

source: Duitang

Soy Wax Candle Making

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:55:00 +0000

2012 comes with a commitment to myself it to live more soulfully and to reflect that on the blog. So, out with the paraffin candles and in with the soy candles.

Let’s make some candles! Here’s the howto.

Soy Wax Candle Making Supplies Needed

soy wax flakes (European readers / I get it here: Soy wax flakes
wick
100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oils (Eucalyptus, Lavender, Lemongrass, Orange, Peppermint, Tea Tree)
Clean recycled glass or terracotta containers, such as marmalade jars, lemonade glasses, pretty little terracotta vases or vintage porcelain cups ‘n saucers
Double-boiler
Pitcher, with spout
Sticks to hold wick in place
Blow-dryer

Step-by-step Candle Making Instructions

a. Preparation: Cover a table with a oil cloth table cloth as your work table.

b. Pre-warm your molds in a warm (not hot) oven for 10 minutes before you need them. Leave them in the oven until right before you pour your soy wax into them. So, at this point, you turn your oven on to pre-heat it. Or, you can pre-heat your molds by heating it up with a blow dryer just before use – see later.

c. Tie the wick to the stick, and lay the stick flat on top of your glass containers. measure the length of wick where your wick reaches the bottom of your container and cut it to size. Lay sticks with attached wicks next side by side each container at your candle cooling place.

d. Melt your soy wax flakes with a few drops of essential oil in the double boiler.

e. When your wax is completely melted, set it aside to cool down for a few seconds.

Tip: if you haven’t put your molds into the over to preheat, you can now pre-heat your glass containers with a blow-dryer for a minute so they become slightly higher than room temperature. By preheating the molds, the wax will cool more evenly. Wax poured into a cold mold will give ‘drag lines’ along the sides of your votives.

e. Place stick on top of each jar, with wick in the center. Pour the soy wax into your containers. Make sure the wick goes all the way down to the bottom of your container, and is in the center.

f. Let your wax candles cool for a few hours until solid.

g. Rather than cutting the wick, tie a colored bead in it for decoration.

h. Label each jar with its scent, content and maker, and perhaps a message of love.

Tips

Tip 1. Add tiny color code tag to jar before pouring to easily identify scent later

Tip 2. There are no natural candle dyes on the market. As candle dyes are synthetic, it’s best to go without it. If you insist on a dye, then tint it in the color of the flower essence you are using as that will at least ‘feel’ most natural. And always use special candle dye rather than ‘crayons, food coloring, etc, etc.’

Tip 3. The double boiler method is the safest (but slowest) way to melt wax, but NEVER leave your melting wax unattended on the stove.

Tip 4. Soy wax will hold the fragrance of the essential oils better than paraffin wax, so you’ll need less oil.

Recycle Holiday Cards into Tags

Fine Craft Guild — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Yes, the holidays are really over now that the three wise men are arriving (the 6th). So now is the perfect time to get the ship back into order and clear received holiday cards and gift packaging. Rather than tossing them away, reuse recycle as next year’s gift tags.

Simple and fast. Get it done now. Ready for next year.

Cutting up the cards is fun for kids, and so is crafting the cutouts into new crafty tags. Something fun to do over the weekend.

Options: get a head start on next year, and cut them into proper tags right away. Or create a creative holiday craft box for next year with manageable sized pieces of paper and gift wrapping goodies to make gift tags and ornaments next Christmas season.

image source: Inhabitots